Fire-escape



(No Model.)

- P. COSTELLO.

FIRE ESCAPE.

- Patented May 9. 1882..

N. PETERS. Pholo-Lillwgnphar. wumngton. D4 c.

i 'of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, of the State the followingspecification and represented in UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

PATRICK H. COSTELLO, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Fl RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 257,663, dated May 9,1882. Application filed March 6, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK H. CosrELLo,

of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement inFire-Escapes; and I do hereby declare the same to be described in theaccompanying drawings, of which Figure -1 is afront view, and Fig. 2 aside view,'of the upper part of a building with my fire-escape appliedthereto. Fig. 3 is a front elevation, Fig. 4 an end view, and Fig. 5 alongitudinal section, of the ladder and its coiling and supportingmechanism, the three last figures being on an enlarged scale incomparison to that of the first and second.

The nature of my invention is defined in the claims hereinafterpresented.

In carrying out my said invention I fix to the building A to projectbeyond the upper part of its front in manner as represented, a strongrail, 13, which may also extend from said front around one or both sidesand the rear of the building. The said rail is to support theladder-case or carriage (3, which is furnished with a hooked standard,a, carrying a wheel, I), to bear on the upper edge of the rail. Twoguides, G 0, project upward from the case, they being arranged with thehooked standard a in manner as shown. The case is cylindrical, and haswithin it, concentrically, a shaft, d, duly supported, so that it can berevolved by a crank, e, fixed to it, or by means of a sprocket-wheel andan endless chain applied to the latter. There are fastened on the shaftand within the case two disks or heads, ff, and between them there isattached to the shaft one extremity of a rope ladder, D, the case beingprovided with an opening, 0, in its lower part, for the ladder to passfrom or to be drawn up within it.' A rope, E, fixed to the said ladderand depending from it, serves as a means to enable a person to draw itdownward out of the case.

From the above it will be seen that this ladder, with its case, can bemoved alongon the supporting-rail, so as to cause the ladder to come infront of any window of the building. In case of the building being onfire a party or fireman on the ground can with a hook reach thedepending line, andby pulling on it draw down the ladder, a-nd by meansof it move it along in front of any window or windows from which any ofthe inmates may be desirous of escaping. The guides c c, by bearingagainst the front of the rail, serve to keep the wheel from running offit, and they allow the wheel to turn acorner, where the rail bends orturns around such, of the building.

I claim as my invention-- 1. The ladder-case provided with the ladder,its coiling-shaft, and the central standard and its wheel, and theguides, arranged substantially as set forth.

2. The guide-rail arranged with the built ing, as described, incombination with the coiling-ladder, and with its case andcoiling-shaft, and with the sustainin g-sta-ndard and its wheel andguides, arranged with such case, as shown and described; PATRICK H.COSTELLO.

Witnesses:

It. H. EDDY, E. B. PRATT.

